


Whitley in Wonderland

by AmeliaAndreas3



Series: No rest for the victors [4]
Category: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Alice in Wonderland References, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-21
Updated: 2019-07-31
Packaged: 2020-07-09 23:56:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19896511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmeliaAndreas3/pseuds/AmeliaAndreas3
Summary: For the 40th hunger games, the gamemakers decide to pay tribute to a classic from the age before Panem.It was one hell of a year.





	1. Down the rabbit hole

The night before the games Whitley Rave of district 2 started to have second thoughts. 

She said those 2 words, and three other girls echoed her. She raced them to the reaping stage, she won, she got to see the beautiful capitol, she got an 11, she aced the interview. 

And now she had second thoughts. 

Ashton Wilde, her district partner, knocked softly on her door. "Hey, Wit? I just wanted to ask if you're down to be my ally when the pack is broken off. We can end it in a final epic duel between us" 

Whitley Would never admit it now, but she hated their district 1 allies: Luxa and Quartz were too much control freaks and oh boy they were LOUD. and once they saw her skills with a sword, they called her Swifty and didn't let it go. 

So yeah, she had second thoughts. And she would never say it out loud to Ashton. 

*******

The next morning she boarded the hovercraft and presented her arm for the tracker. She was sitted next to Luxa and the boy from Four, he was also a part of the pack, and was good on training. She forgot his name, or the name of his quiet district partner which shared his last name.

She stepped inside the launching room and stood still as the pipe closed against her, it was dark suddenly. That was weird. 

And then Whitley was free falling. 

She was quite positive she screamed, the pedestals are supposed to go up! Did hers malfunctioned? Will she even see the arena?

She wasn't falling so fast right now, and her feet seemed to not touch the ground for a second or two. And then light seems to come from downstairs. 

She was study on her feet now. But her head was spining: w _here are you? Where are you? Focus! The arena, the games._

The countdown began and Whitley studied the arena. 

The cornucopia and them were positioned inside a huge hall. It looked old and fancy, with a golden styled wallpaper. Whitley looked around, doors were surrounding them from all sides, some bigger, some smaller, and one so small that only the 12 year old from district 10 could go through it neatly if she crawled on her knees. 

The cornucopia was filled with weapons, of course, and survival packs. 

The countdown ended, the tributes started to run or scatter. 

Whitley reached the cornucopia right after the boy from 4. She grabbed a sword and searched for fodder. 

Some doors, apparently were locked, a boy from nine tried to fanatically open one and Whitley run up to him and one blow later and he was dead. 

A girl from six tried to run to a door that was open (and some tributes already escaped through it) but Quartz threw his spear and she went down. 

Whitley also got the district 7 girl that attempted to make a run for the supplies. She could see Luxa wiping her knife on the 7 girl's district partner's body. 

Whitley run to the girl from district 4, she stared at the open door. You had to crawl through it to get out, but the four girl was fifthteen and slim. She could go through it. 

So Whitley went to strike. 

"NO! Don't!" it was the boy from Four. Whitley stopped. Now there were only Careers and the girl inside. 

"Why not? You want her in the pack?" asked Luxa

"Yes. I'm sure she can contribute" said the boy. 

"How?! Let me remind you, you're on thin ice here, Joey" said Quartz. So four boy is called Joey, okay. 

"She knows where we are" Joey said. "We know where we are, the arena, it's the hunger games dude!" replies Ashton. 

Joey shook his head. "Sure, but the arena is _special_ this year, you felt like freefalling, right? That. And the arena and whats outside, it all has a purpose!" 

"Well, then, where are we?" Whitley asked the girl. 

The girl grinned. "Down the rabbit hole and into wonderland" 

No one said anything for about a minute. 

"Now What the fuck does that mean?" asked Quartz. The girl went and fetched a pack, she pulled out a full bottle that said 'drink me' and gave it to Quartz. "You will get smaller" 

Quartz scoffed, but took a sip. And another. Nothing happened. 

And then, suddenly his eyes widened. "Holy shit, you look so big!" he told Whitley. 

"Well Swifty is like, over 6' feet tall, of course she's big" said Luxa is annoyance. Quartz switched his gaze to Luxa. "And you're too! You were right! I- god-" he turned to the four girl. "Tell me how to switch back!" 

The four girl gave him a cube that said 'eat me'. "Take two bites, if you drank two sips. But not anymore or you'll turn too big" 

Quartz did what she said and then blinked. "It worked, okay, I believe you now. I swear. But, what does all of this _mean?_ What is this.. Wonderland you mentioned?"

"It's a book from the ages before Panem. Called "Alice in wonderland" The Capitol is really into it. I guess the gamemakers decided to pay a tribute to it" 

"And how did _you_ get your hands on a copy?" asked Whitley. 

"Rose nicked it from a Capitol camera crewman when Calypso won and reads it ever since" said Joey proudly. 

That was ten years ago, Rose was, what five? Impressive. Thought Whitley. 

"There's so much to explore outside that you don't know, I can guide you while you hunt" Rose gives them a satisfied grin. 

"Fine, whatever" said Ashton. "But I don't think I can go through that door, let's look for a key and then go hunting?" 

Luxa found a key and they gathered all the supply and weapons they could carry and walked out through one of the big doors. 


	2. Chesire cats and tea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three days pass and the pack continues to explore the arena and hunt.  
> They find themselves in a very unusual tea party.  
> Meanwhile we see what other tributes are up to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So even tho Whitley and the pack are like, the main focus we're gonna spend some time with the other remaining tributes as well.

Over the past four days, 11 tributes died. 

7 in the bloodbath (5M, 6F, 7F, 7M, 9M, 11F, 12F) , two (the district 10's) by the careers on day 2, one (9F) yesterday by the rabbit mutt and its friends and now Rhodey. 

Gia Shaw of district 3 prided herself for navigating this hellhole arena, where everything is alive for a degree. (yesterday she picked an apple and the squirrels yelled at her. Squirrels. Yelled at her. 

Not to mention the murderous rabbit bolting out of no where with a watch and a _knife._

She circled the forest and looked for the way back to the cornucopia. She's not gonna pick anymore fruit incase the whole tree will shout at her. And she saw the district 4 girl lead the careers the other way this morning. A rustle from the tree she leaned on startled her and she pulled out the switch blade. 

A cat appeared infront of her. And it _smiled_.

Gia have never seen an actual cat, but she was almost sure that they're aren't supposed to. "You look lost" 

"You can talk" she exclaimed in shock, still pointing the switch blade at him.

"I can also Kill" the cat's smile grew wider. "But let me give you an advice. Go to the mad hatter's house to fill your belly" 

She didn't ask how he knew it. "But there is no house out here-" a sign was created out of thin air. The one pointing left said _the mad hatter's house._

Every muscle in Gia's sore body screamed _WARNING WARNING It's a gamemaker's trap._ but Gia's curiosity got the better of her And she turned left, slinking as quietly as she could until she reached a house, an actual house. Outside there was a long table, with porcelain plates, teacups and teapots: the table was only half full, and the ones sitting at the table were the strangest bunch Gia have ever seen:

Animals who laughed and talked nonsense and passed the teacups between them. She prided the gamemakers for the excellent machine work needed for creating that. 

When they saw her, a human looking man stood up. "Care for teaaa?" the sound of his recorded voice glitched a little and she pointed the switch blade at him. "You must be the mad hatter then" 

He was short. Shorter then her (she was...quite short) and wore a green top hat in addition to an all lime green suit. He smiled from ear to ear. Like the big ass smile that Xalvin, their escort, wore during the whole prepration week. 

She sat down, and what looked like a beaver poured her a cup. She didn't touch it, but continued to study the mutts and the way they talked. 

The boy from 11 later joined them. He tried to convince himself it's not real. But soon enough he's sitted next to her and the Mad hatter says that they are still waiting for more guests so they can start a game. 

*******

It was day six. And they have found one more tribute: the boy from 8. Whitley was the one to finish him off completely. 

But that was two days ago. 

Luxa was restless. "Let's go back to the cornucopia. 

"If our guide even KNOWS WHERE SHE'S GOING!" yelled Quartz. "Great job 1! I'm sure the entire arena heard you now!" Ashton glared and Joey hurried to stand between them. "Shh!" Whitley hushed them. "Shut up! I heard something!" 

She really heard something, talking. And laughing coming from their left. "Is that an alliance of some kind?" asked Joey. "Lets find out" replied Quartz and they moved towards the noise. 

They didn't except to see a house. Or a bunch of animals sitting at a table. "We have more visitors!" a short man jumped on the table. Rose walked towards him, wide-eyed. "You're the mad hatter!" she shook hand and he offered her his top hat. "Oh, Mousey dear, pour some more tea for our guests." he showed Rose to a seat and Joey hurried to sit next to her. 

The other four were skeptical. But Luxa sees the girl from 3 and the boy from 11 also there. Eyes wide as they both meddle with a tea cup. She sends a hand towards a knife- "no, no, no. This is a party. Lead our guests to the table and let's begin with a game!" the mad hatter pried the knife from Luxa's hand and the rabbit they saw earlier pushes them to the table. 

Whitley sits next to Joey and Ashton. Ashton is tense. He eyes a butterknife close to where they sit. 

"Now we must run in a circle around the table. And when Mousey stops we drink. Come now!" the entire table is up, and Whitley is nudged foword by Joey and Rose. The mouse continues to play music with her teaspoon and pot until she stops. 

"Drink" says the mad hatter. Whitley and the other careers didn't touch the cups infront of them. 

_"drink"_ the mad hatter's tone was much more darker then the capitol-escort-I'm-happy-all the-time tone he used a second ago. 

It's a test from the gamemakers. So Whitley drinks, and so does the rest of the humans and animals drink. 

And Ashton falls flat next to her, so does Quartz across from her, and the boy from eleven. 

The Mad hatter laughs. 

Whitley grabs her sword and stabs him through the heart. Luxa starts knifing the animals. 

"C'mon!" she shouts for Joey, he jerks away from his shock, grabs Rose and bolts after her. The girl from three does the same. 

She doesn't stop until she can't hear them anymore, her heart pounding and she can't hear anything but her own heathy breathing. 

Joey and Rose crush through the greenery. And the girl follows. "Please, please don't kill me" she begs. "I.. I didn't know why I stayed, I'll just leave you alone just.. PLEASE don't" 

"We're not gonna kill you" Joey reaches a hand towards her. "I'm Joey, and I think we're final 8 now, congarts"

The girl immediately looks up. "Final 8? The game started four days ago!"

"Seven days ago, actually." 

The girl hugs herself. "I, I have been there for three days without food! How? I didn't hear no anthem, no Canons.."

"That's the point" says Rose. 

All three of them look at her. "In the book, the time never moves at the mad hatter's tea party. It's always tea time" 

"What book?" the girl asks. Fanatically. 

"Alice in wonderland. The whole arena is based on it" 

"Oh" the girl says. "Well, can you tell me how to get to the cornucopia?" 

"I have no idea" says Rose. "Just pick a direction and go"

So the girl does, they head the other way and camp for the night. "The supplies will be over tomorrow, we need to find the cornucopia as well" said Whitley. 

"Tomorrow we'll find more" says Joey. "But we need to sleep tonight" the anthem plays: Quartz and Ashton appears in the sky. So does the district 8 girl and boy and the district 11 boy. 

So they settle down and sleep. Whitley takes first watch. Later into the night she feels her eyelids closing. A rustle in the bushes. It's the rabbit that she saw three days ago: the one with a waistcoat and a watch. 

And a knife. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remaining final 7:  
> Luxa (1)  
> Whitley (2)  
> Gia (3)  
> Rose (4)  
> Joey(4)  
> Emerson (6)  
> Cole (12)


	3. Catapillar and Capitol

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We learn what the capitol is thinking about the arena, Joey and Whitley share stories next to the catapillar's mushroom.

The Capitol went wild when they saw the cornucopia. 

'Alice' was a mendatory reading at capitol schools (not that it mattered, people read it outisde of school anyway) and seeing the arena based on it got everyone talking

Head gamemaker Cassiopeia O'vett was given many praises from many people and that included the president himself. 

Caesar Flickerman asked her many times about designing the mutts and should we be expecting more familiar characters from the book. She smiled and told them to be ready for whats to come.

The crowd loved the tea party, and the 6M and 12M that got high from the Catapillar smoke on day 3. 

And now 2F and her district 4 allies were running from the rabbit. 

Cassiopeia watched the girl from 2 get a head start while the two others struggled. The girl didn't look back and her speed was marvelous. 

"I think we found a new white rabbit" She hears Caesar saying on the main screen. 

The audience probably agreed with him. Cassiopeia saw them stopping by the catapillar's mushroom to rest. The rabbit continues to the hedge not far from there: another surprise for the fans in the audience. 

This will be good. 

12M dies by the hands of the Cheshire cat. 6M dies by 1F and her knives. The girl is on her own, sulking next to the hedge that is the next surprise. "She'll be perfect. Move the hedge a bit, I want her and the audience to see it" Cassiopeia tells one of the gamemakers monitoring the area. 

The girl gasps in amazement. The audience and Caesar cheer:

It was a huge, heart shaped palace. With both red AND white rose bushes surrounding it. (because show your support for the president's token mark, why not?) 

1F walks in suspicious. The mutt cards are on her, she fights them off with her knives and later, when they come too close for her, she grabs one of the swords and demonstrates why she got a 12 (rightfully) on privte training. 

"Remove the cards, I want her to see the queen" she orders. 

The cards are quickly lining up in two perfect lines when the queen enters. The audience can't contain their happiness on the main screen. 

The queen was designed after Cassiopeia herself, with the latest capitol fashion in her a-symmetrical dress and braided hairstyle she saw almost all of the escorts wearing. 

"A wonderful trick by O'vett! We're gonna have to book another interview come nighttime" says Caesar. 

1F tries to keep herself from shaking. But Cassiopeia saw the little fear in the girl's pretty face. And then she steps to the microphone so she can talk as the queen. "Who are you to interfere in my palace?" 

The girl stands up tall. "Luxa Coblet, district 1, future victor of the 40th hunger games" 

"Well, Luxa Coblet, I like you, kneel first, and you get to keep your head. What do you say?" 

Luxa stays put. "A victor won't bow to anyone, I'll wear a crown of my own, thank you very much"

Cassiopeia hoped she would refuse. Because she got to say an iconic sentence: "very well, OFF WITH HER HEAD!" 

The cards pushed forward on her commend. But the girl broke free and threw her last knife at the queen. Cassiopeia saw the hologram disappear. And on the main screen, Luxa walked to the dying queen, snached the crown and put it on her head instead. "Your queen is dead. And until another crown will be put on my head. I will be queen" 

Now that's an interesting twist. As she was now able to command the cards. Luxa had a wicked smile on her lips. 

Cassiopeia will make sure they will come to her. 

*******

Whitley was out of her breath when she looked around fanatically for Joey and Rose. A canon fired. And she flinched. 

_did the rabbit get one of them?!_

just when she was about to call out their names she saw them. Both heavy breathing and sweating even tho it was dawn. "You are _fast,_ Whitley. God!" Joey sat down and opened one of the packs. "There's only 'drink me' bottles and 'eat me' cookies here, I told you we need to go find the cornucopia again." 

"We've been trying to do so for the past week and didn't succeed" says Whitley. "I guess they can still help you stay dehydrated and only makes you _feel_ small or big" She took a big sip and closed her eyes. 

Since she was quite tall, taller than Joey, most of her life Whitley felt quite big, when she opened her eyes Rose was bigger then her, and that felt weird. She could now stand bellow the mushroom she stopped next to (even if it was a hallucination). 

Joey and Rose did the same and something stepped onto the mushroom. 

"Who's there?" Joey called out. 

"That depends. How do you define a 'who'?" "are you playing games with us?" asked Whitley

"Aren't you 'playing games' right now?" 

Whitley was having non of this, and when she went out from bellow the mushroom. A huge Catapilar stared at her blankly. 

And he was smoking. "You can't be real" she asked. "I am no more real than anything here, any more real then you are"

Whitley had no idea what did that mean. Rose and Joey stepped outside. "Oh, the Catapillar!" Rose exclaimed quickly.

So that's another wacky character from the book. "Smart girl, arent you?" the catapillar puffed a cloud of smoke at the three of them and then disappeared. 

Her vision blurred. "Ly. Mmm something's wrong" someone mumbled behind her, what's his name? What is this?

Behind her was a fish. "Mmmmm you look so good I wanna eat you out fishy!" 

"Ly mmmm I think smoke bad" the fish had a mouth and he spoke. 

And then there was black. 

When she opened her eyes there was night an music was coming from somewhere. 

It wasn't just music. The anthem. It's the games. 

"Are you okay?" Asked a voice. No, the voice had a name. Joey. Joey. "Joey. Cool name" 

"Thanks, my parents gave it to me" she realised he was lying right next to her, and next to him there was another one. Rose. 

"Is Rose your sister?" 

"Yeah. Isn't that obvious?"

"Did you volunteer for her?" 

Silence. "Yes.. I guess I wanted to protect her, and it would create excitement for the games to have two Gouldings in the arena. Especially when one of them's an expert on this stupid book" his voice was bitter. 

"Goulding, that's your last name?" 

"Well, like I said, We didn't knew our parents, we lived in an orphanage and made our own names" 

"Is it nice to invent your own name?"

"I guess. That way you can be whoever you wanna be. What about you? Why did you volunteer?" 

Whitley shrugged. "I guess for glory or something.. I had second thoughts the night before" 

"A career? Having second thoughts?" 

"It's more likely then you think" replied Whitley. 

"I guess the whole name thing backfired. Now the Goulding name's gonna be forgotten." he smiled

"You can still win the games. Maybe" 

"Maybe". 

Her eyelids closed again and she let sleep wash over her. When she woke up, it was night again. And someone was standing in front of her. 

She wasted no time, reached for her sword and lashed at the person. 

Whitley sat up, the person also drew a sword. And he was dressed in a lime green suit, it was the mad hatter again. Whitley blocked then went for the kill. (again)

When she stood up infront of her opponent, she saw short blonde hair in a damp, her opponent was tall, but the mad hatter she remembered was short:

The mad hatter looked like her. It even fought like her. 

"Ly. Are you okay?" Joey looked concerned. 

Whitley blinked hard: there was no mad hatter. 

"I- I don't know- that smoke did something to me" 

_did it though? Or did you finally crack?_

"I think I'm going crazy" 

Rose smiled: "well, there's this iconic line in the book: ****_we're all mad here"_


	4. Victory.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the victor watches the last few deaths unfold from the throne at the victory interview with Caesar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got tired. Only oneshots from now on.

It all happened so fast. 

One day they were talking half drugged and then the next she was crowned victor. And was sitting at the victory throne with Caesar commenting about her victory. 

She watches the three of them- along with the district 3 girl- running towards the castle, where Luxa, in a fashion gown and a crown waited, she commended the soldier cards and called herself the queen of hearts. 

On the screen, Luxa ordered to decapitate them, and the cards get Rose, and Luxa throws a knife at the district 3 girl. Luxa now fights with Joey, and She sneaks behind Luxa and pokes the sword between Luxa's ribs. 

"Wonderfully done by our white rabbit!" Caesar says. 

On the screen, she now battles Joey, Sword against sword: he disarms her, whispers words of sorrow before launching the sword. 

And then she stabs him with Luxa's throwing knife. 

It takes him two minutes to die, in those two minutes she watches the blood pour into a puddle and decides to honor him.

_with me and Rose gone, the Goulding name with be forgotten._

not if she had something to say about it. 

As Caesar pushed more compliments on her fighting she realized she doesn't want to be Whitley anymore, Whitley was an overconfident career who wanted glory, who trained and was ready to kill as much as she can, Whitley was a stupid girl who followed the careers for a week and didn't do anything when Luxa, Qaurtz and Ashton killed other kids. 

Whitley was no victor, so she wanted to change her name accordingly. She was a new person now. 

"Caeser, I would like to say something"

The young interviewer smiled at her: "of course, what?"

"I don't think my name fits me anymore, I want to change it" 

The crowd in the room started to whisper amongst themselves. Everyone were intrigued and listening, that was something new. 

"Well, Just the first name? Both?" 

"Both. First and last name. I just feel like I owe it to my alliance and to myself" 

"Okay, now we're all so excited! What do you wish to be called?" 

She thought about a first name for a second, a nice name, the name of a new person, victor.

The name just struck her. 

"Lyme Goulding" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know. Weird plot twist, I tried to foreshadow it last episode. Sorry.


End file.
